Easter Story About Jesus for Little Boys and Girls by Kidsup Publishing

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a simplified retelling of the Easter story for kids 3-5 years old.  The story begins with Jesus' birth and goes through his life. It then tells the story of his crucifixion and resurrection, which is the reason we celebrate Easter. The pictures are simple, happy and bright.  This would be a book that any parent or grandparent could read to their child or grandchild to teach them the  true meaning of Easter.

 

Before You Go by James Preller

 

Genre:  Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Source:  I purchased a copy

This is the third book I’ve read this week that had a drowning in it. This is another story where the sibling feels the drowning is his fault and where the parents deal with grief in different ways. Jude’s dad jogs to try to forget and his mom self-medicates.  At the end of the school year Jude gets a job and meets Becca. She is easy to talk to and so he shares his grief with her.  Then he is hit with another tragedy when he loses a close friend in a car accident.  Once again this is a story about dealing with grief. So many times people shut themselves up to grief. This story is divided into two parts: Before and After. I felt like the second half was better, stronger than the first half. Would I recommend this to my students? You bet. Can they get it from my shelves? No. This is another one that had to be pulled due to district guidelines.  I still recommend it.

Student Saturday: My Cousin's Keeper by Simon French

 

Sttudent Reviewer: Humberto G.

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

The characters in "My cousin's Keeper" are Benn,Kieran, Renee, and Gina The setting takes place at his home and school.

Kieran, and Ben are related. At the start of the school year a boy shows up, which is Kieran ' cousin he doesn't know. Ben is in a really bad conditiona at home and at school. There are people at school who bully him. Kieran wants to be in a popular group with teh popular kids. When seh found out that they were relatedhe feels embarassed because of the way Ben looks. At home Ben has a mom who doesn't take good care of him. Ben has long braids, a babyish hat, and has a funny voice. Ben has an only friend which is Julia who likes Kieran.

Things I would do in this situation would be stand up for family. As we know Kieran and Ben are relatives and Kieran feels embarrassed to be Ben's cousin. Kieran lets people bully his cousin. I I was in this situation I would stand up and not be embarrassed over family and the way they look. This story has a big meaning to it and would recommend it to people who dealt with this tough time. I would also recommend this book to people who love drama.